RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born in 158 AD in Lugdunum, Liv lived as a dancer assassin during the times of Marcus Aurelius, but was cast into an interdimensional speculum by a jealous Commodus. Transported to the 26th century, she flourished as a singer soldier who spearheaded a major troop recruitment campaign.
Born in 88 AD in Salona, Callistrate led a cohort of vampire and zombie hunters deep into the heart of Dacia on orders by Trajan to destroy the scourge; however, the soldiers never returned and are believed to have been transported to a distance time and place.
Born in 123 BC in Tarsus, Rox was a Cilician pirate who had captured and sold Julius Caesar for ransom. As revenge, Caesar returned to condemn Rox to an eternal life of fighting in the most brutal gladiator pits through time and space.
Born 83 BC in Rome, Marco was once a celebrated general and senator, renowned for his cunning and valor. His life took a fateful turn in Tarsus, where an interdimensional portal whisked him into an alternate universe, strikingly similar to his own. Yet, the transition bore an unforeseen glitch, rendering him completely invisible. Embracing his new form, Marco now clandestinely aids his counterpart, wielding his unseen presence as a tool to spy on foes and secure treasures, all while navigating the challenges of a world where he is forever unseen, but profoundly felt.
Born 470 AD in Augusta Suessionum, Nebia served as a handmaid to Queen Clotilde before her life took a dramatic turn. Encountered by a stranger from another dimension, she was awakened to her telekinetic powers and recruited for a war against alien cyborg overlords. Now, from behind a terminal screen in the dimly lit chambers of a futuristic cave stronghold, she manipulates the simulacrum of her past existence.
Born 397 AD in Pompaelo and raised by bullfighters, Becky was kidnapped and pressed into service by Vandal invaders. While investigating the Temple of Alcántara, she was transported to an alternate dimension in a mid-21st century AD postapocalyptic wasteland.
Born in 117 AD in Barcino, Lita displayed exceptional martial arts talents, so was hand picked to be the personal bodyguard of Hadrian; however, on his death Lita was forced to join the Emperor in his tomb. While attempting to escape, she discovered a dimensional portal which cast her to a parallel universe set in an atomic age. As an outsider, her only option was to battle for survival in the cybercolosseum.
Born 2,688 AD in Londinium, Carlus is a time adjuster who travels across dimensions to repair critical issues with the space time continuum by facilitating events to happen as intended. He also shreds on guitar.
Born in 132 BC in Cirta, North Africa, Izara came from a tribe of futuristic warrior women who traveled through a dimensional portal in Egypt to change the course of history by tipping the balance against Gaius Marius and his Roman legion in the Jugurthine Wars.
Born 200 BC in Xanthos, Matilda was chief librarian of the legendary Library of Lycia until cyborg and alien invaders annexed her homeland during the heyday of the Roman Republic. To escape enslavement, she conjured an interdimensional portal from ancient Sumerian texts, leaving to establish a rare used book store in 1980s AD Manhattan.
Born 179 BC in Sidon, Tanith was a merchant’s wife who escaped Carthage during the destruction by Cato the Elder by sneaking through an open interdimensional portal at the Temple of Melqart. To her chagrin, Tanith landed in the 22nd century benighted kingdom of Neo-Carthage where she keeps a low profile as a shopping mall retail clerk.
Born 733 BC in Neapolis, Bardash was captured and enslaved by King Midas after an unsuccessful raid into his Kingdom of Phrygia. Known for his knowledge of and resistance to poisons, Bardash became an alchemist and food taster for the king.
Born in 51 AD in Virunum, Acca, the daughter of a Roman general and a servant woman, was raised in the Second Legion and became a fiercely loyal soldier for the Flavian Emperors. It is said that Acca died attempting to prevent the assassination of Domitian.
Born 126 AD in Colonia, Sextus is a bath house owner and sculptor famous for his phallic figurines. A follower of Bacchus, he caroused across dimensions to celebrate Saturnalia in search of new models for his exquisite statues.
Born 299 AD in an alternate dimension where Rome controlled Mesoamerica, as a child Zuma was found to possess telekinetic powers, so she was enslaved and trained to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of kings.
